Are Stereotypes Necessarily Bad?

Recently on Twitter, I made a comment that stereotypes are based on true experiences. Someone asked me if I was justifying stereotypes.

My answer to that is yes and no. Stereotypes aren't inherently bad, and by definition have an element of truth. It's what we do with them that can be bad. The way I see it, there are positive and negative ways to respond to stereotypes, and they fall into two categories. The positive response generally involves awareness and preparedness. The negative response generally involves reactiveness and suspicion. Mind you, these thoughts are anecdotal, but they make sense to me. With that in mind, allow me to illustrate with some examples:

Stereotype: Most tall people are good at basketball.

Positive Response: If you're a college basketball scout and visit a high school basketball summer camp, you should probably factor in height when looking for a good rebounder. That doesn't mean you should ignore the shorter players, but it is common sense that being tall makes it easier to rebound the ball.

Negative Response: If you're a college basketball scout, you might ignore the shorter players. If you're anyone else, you might judge a tall person who isn't good at basketball, perhaps thinking he/she doesn't have any other talents. It is true that for some reason, we sometimes negatively judge someone who doesn't meet our expectations based on a given stereotype of their demographic - regardless of the nature of the stereotype.

Stereotype: Most men are problem solvers, while most women like to discuss their problems without necessarily seeking a solution.

Positive Response: Women, if a man tells you he has some issues he's trying to figure out, 1) Ask him if he wants to talk about it, and 2) If the answer to number 1 is yes, listen to him and ask if he would like some advice. Stereotypically, he will not tell you no when he really does want help. Otherwise he wouldn't have said yes to number 1.

Men, if a woman tells you her problems, ask whether she is seeking a solution or a listener.

Negative Response: All I can think of for this stereotype is that sometimes, if a man is seeking a listener instead of a solution, his friends will resent him for wasting their time. They assume that he will want a solution, so perhaps they will set a different standard for when and how long they are willing to listen to him. That's the only explanation I can think of for why they would respond to him differently than if he were a woman doing the same thing. Or perhaps it's just that he violates their expectations based on the stereotype, all other things being equal. And by friends I mean both male and female friends. I've had female friends respond to me less than favorably for getting more emotional than the average male.

In contrast, a negative response to a solution-oriented woman would be to assume that she's too pushy and demanding.

In other words, when it comes to offering a solution vs. just listening, ask either gender which they would prefer. Regarding expectations, prepare for and respect the possibility of either preference.

Stereotype: Most Middle Easterners are terrorists.

Positive Response: If you're at a restaurant and see two men who appear to be Middle Eastern, and they start using vague yet suspicious language such as "Don't fail the mission," "We want them to be afraid," and "Five minutes until the big kaboom," then you should call the police. Something similar actually happened shortly after 9/11, and the person who called it in was accused of racial profiling. But while the existence of a terrorist threat is debated these days, back then it was common sense to be careful. In fact, the Bush Administration was criticized for not detecting the signs leading to 9/11.

That being said, you should notify the authorities of any such suspicious behavior, regardless of the person's race or ethnicity.

Negative Response: With your friends, tackle the men to the ground in front of everybody, shouting, "Terrorist!"

Stereotype: All church-goers are good, honest people.

Positive Response: When you go to church, chances are you won't need to worry about being robbed or attacked as though you were in a dark alley. Don't automatically be on your guard without cause. Recognize, however, that people who go to church are still human, so don't lose your faith all at once if one or more people violate this stereotype.

Negative Response: Intentionally leave your wallet and your keys in the foyer. Again, everyone is human, especially in these hard times.

To summarize, stereotypes only hurt us when we rely on them to make our decisions for us. Otherwise they simply act as defense mechanisms and/or shortcuts. Remember that all defense mechanisms and shortcuts should be assessed for effectiveness before being used. And so it should be with stereotypes. Keep in mind that stereotypes and misconceptions are completely different. One is rooted in some element of truth, however unwisely generalized, while the other is often based on falsehoods that have been passed down due to hate (i.e. racism, homophobia, etc.). We often say stereotype when what we mean is misconception.

So yes, there is a place for stereotypes.